The Deacon's Bench
From The Telegraph:
A town in Tuscany is offering a “baby bonus” of €2,000 (£1,420) to encourage larger families, as Italy frets over its low birth rate.
But there are conditions – couples must be Italian and committed Catholics who were married in church, and the bonus only kicks in with the birth of their third child.
The initiative has been dreamed up by the parish priest of Staggia Senese, a medieval walled town that lies between Siena and Florence.
The appropriately named Stefano Bimbi (“bimbi” means babies or children in Italian) said he was determined to offer assistance to couples in the town who wanted larger families but were worried about the cost of having a baby.
The bonus has already been given out to four families.
The money is awarded to parents on the day that they baptise their infants.
“Our parish wants to give concrete help in this time of [economic] crisis to parents who with courage accept the gift of a child,” Father Bimbi said in a statement posted on the parish website.
The money is coming from the local church and will be paid out until the funds are exhausted.
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